Earlier than he turned the Jets head coach, or the Lions defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn was the Saints defensive backs coach for 5 seasons (2016-20).
Jets punter Thomas Morstead was additionally enjoying in New Orleans throughout that point (2016-20).
The 2 shall be reunited after Glenn was named the Jets’ new coach on Wednesday. Though they didn’t work on the identical aspect of the ball, Morstead stated one explicit attribute stood out about Glenn once they have been each with the Saints.
“I’m not a defensive back or even a defensive player, so I really didn’t interface with him a ton in meetings. But as somebody around the building, professionalism is just the word that comes to mind when I think about him.”
Professionalism is undoubtedly a key high quality for any coach, particularly one attempting to vary a corporation’s tradition, and Glenn will try to take action with the Jets. Gang Inexperienced is coming off a disappointing 5-12 season, but it surely had excessive expectations getting into the 12 months.
Amidst a problematic season, Jets proprietor Woody Johnson fired each coach Robert Saleh and normal supervisor Joe Douglas, hoping to generate a spark from the workforce. However Jeff Ulbrich went 3-9 throughout his 12 video games as interim coach.
The Jets are nonetheless looking for a brand new normal supervisor after conducting second interviews this week with Washington assistant normal supervisor Lance Newmark, Broncos assistant normal supervisor Darren Mougey and Bengals senior personnel government Trey Brown.
In recent times, the Jets have been criticized for being a dysfunctional group. In an article launched by The Athletic final month, Johnson was “characterized as an over-involved, impulsive owner in conversations with more than 20 people in and around the Jets organization.” This was after The Athletic stated Johnson’s household has had an elevated position within the group, a declare that he later denied and claimed was unfaithful.
Gamers and others across the group have referred to Glenn as a tradition builder throughout his 4 seasons because the Lions defensive coordinator following his stint with the Saints. Together with Dan Campbell, Glenn helped Detroit go from bottom-feeders to Tremendous Bowl contenders. After a 3-13-1 file in 2021 in Glenn and Campbell’s first season, the Lions completed with a 36-15 file from 2022-24, with two playoff appearances and a visit to the NFC Championship.
In the meantime, the Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010. They haven’t completed with a profitable file since Gang Inexperienced went 10-6 and barely missed the playoffs in 2015.
Glenn — who shall be formally launched on Monday afternoon — will look to show the Jets round and mould the workforce in his personal means.
“I think everybody’s got different qualities that they’ll prioritize, but at the end of the day, people wanna win, and they want results,” Morstead stated when requested what he’s on the lookout for in his new coach. “Hopefully, somebody that can drive those results.
“I think the best way to have great results is to have great processes and hopefully the GM/head coach combo work well together. I’m sure a lot of Jets fans are wary of kind of feeling like they’ve been through this a number of times in the past.
“Hopefully, it’s not a rebuild mentality as there are a lot of good pieces on the team, but obviously, something has to change because we haven’t collectively got it done.”
As for Morstead, 38, the 2025 season would be the closing 12 months of his contract with the Jets. Final season, he was fifteenth in punting common (47.2) and twenty first in internet punting common (40.9).
With a brand new regime coming in, Morstead may very well be one of many few acquainted faces on particular groups in 2025. After struggling this season, making 9-of-15 kicks, kicker Greg Zuerlein may very well be a cap casualty. The Jets additionally might have a brand new returner, with Brant Boyer unlikely to be retained as particular groups coach.
Regardless of his age and enjoying 17 seasons within the NFL, Morstead stated he needs to proceed enjoying so long as he maintains his need to play.
“It’s a super cliche answer of kind of just taking it a day at a time or a season at a time,” Morstead stated. “But I’m highly motivated to continue playing. You know, the experiences that I get to have with my wife and kids, in particular of them getting to see dad do something really cool.
“I’ve got support from everybody in the house to keep going even though it’s difficult on the family to move up and do that every year. But everybody is on board to keep going, so as long as I feel like I can continue playing at a high level, I’m sure I’ll keep going.”
